Treatment with G-CSF reduces morbidity and increases bacterial clearance of irradiated and hindlimb suspension mice systemically challenged with <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>.

<p>Sets of 10 mice per treatment group were irradiated with 2 Gy of protons or gamma rays and hindlimb suspended or not and injected with PBS or G-CSF (600 μg/kg) by the subcutaneous route every 3 days until the end of the experiment. All groups were exposed to <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> by intraperitoneal injection 5 days after irradiation and followed. Morbidity scores (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0120126#pone.0120126.t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a>) were calculated (A—proton and B—gamma rays) daily and animals were considered morbid if their score increased by 3 points or remained 2 points elevated for 24 hrs. C = control, R + S = irradiated + hindlimb suspended. Bacteria in blood were quantitated 5 days after infection (C—proton and D—gamma rays). Values are means ± SEM of log₁₀ colony-forming units (CFUs). One-way ANOVA with Bonferroni’s correction for multiple comparisons was used to test the statistical significance of changes in CFUs. Kaplan-Meier curve statistical significance was measured by Mantel-Cox log rank test.